Friday: Join the Discussion on the Future of Transportation in Denver

Alejandro Henao spends a lot of time thinking about transportation, because that’s what students studying civil engineering and transportation do. But the University of Colorado Denver doctoral student wanted to do more — and see his city act, too.

So Henao, with the CU Denver chapters of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and WTS, organized a panel discussion with some of the major players in local transportation. It’s called the Future of Transportation in Denver Summit.

“The main reason to do this is to start a conversation about designing better cities with so many changes in transportation these days,” says Henao. “Just having seen all these other conferences around the country, there’s a lot of other conversations out there and I haven’t really seen it in Denver.”

What’s being done now to ensure Denver’s transportation network accommodates the 800,000 new people expected to join the region in the next 15 years? Are government agencies, companies, and academia prepared to solve the problem by rethinking how people get around safely and efficiently?

“From my perspective there’s a lot of stuff that the university can do for research for the city, RTD, Lyft, and other private companies,” says Henao. “That’s why we diversified the panel. It’s about the collaboration between different entities and how we can support and help each other.”

So hear what decision makers have to say by joining the discussion Friday, December 4, at CU Denver’s Student Commons, 1201 Larimer St., from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm (lunch included). You can register for the event here.

“The main reason to do this is to start a conversation about designing better cities with so many changes in transportation these days” Sometimes the best intentions just end up paving the way to hell. I was super excited about this summit where we would get to talk about the *future of transportation in Denver* but instead I was disappointed in the what and how of the discussion. Not only did i feel that the conversation was directed only to stir the hornets nest in an un-objective fashion but in fact that moderator David Sachs stated that it was his summit and that he had his own agenda. I understand that David is a voice to some of the many cries for better infrastructure, bike/ped accommodation, etc. but it lists him as a panelist and not the moderator, which is not an issue but when you take this stance you change from being a moderator/facilitator into being someone akin to the interviewing tactics of someone on Fox news.

I am pulled back to the lessons that I have learned while working on my Masters degree in the idea of communication and facilitation which is akin to moderation. You are not there to force feed your agenda on the people attending or speaking but instead are there to help the flow of the communication and help everyone gain as much knowledge as they can.

I look at a couple of communication related websites, and blogs and feel that there is room for improvement. Many of the non-profits and grass roots organizations have strategies on how to moderate with all sides [http://tiny.cc/gtq66x] so that a balanced communication, objective and conclusion can be made – as possible as it might be, and yes there are circumstances where this cannot be achieved. It would have been awesome to have a student from the school of Public Affairs be the moderator and have David actually sit on the panel and give his voice instead of asking a question and then asking it in a different way because they didn’t answer in the fashion that you wanted… by stating that you have your own agenda as the moderator really shuts down the communication between panelists, corrupts the idea of the summit, and dissolves the progress towards education and forward movement.

I am pleased to see that there were so many people interested in the important topic that is transportation and what it means for the future of Denver Colorado. I was disheartened at the false perception that this was about communication to discuss big changes that are on the horizon for us, while all discussing some of the difficulties and even faults that face our great city. I hope that we can communicate and discuss these topics in a more objective climate, where positive change and growth can be made by all.

Today Mayor Michael Hancock gathered with community members at City Hall to share a set of plans that will guide how Denver will change to keep its people housed, healthy and safely getting to the places they need to go over the next 20 years.

After the Global Climate Strike, where students in Colorado and around the world demanded climate action, elected officials at all levels of Colorado government appear to be shrugging their shoulders, offering political agendas that fail to envision a better transportation future.